pinch hitter

noun

: one that pinch-hits

Examples of pinch hitter in a Sentence

the business owners brought in a pinch hitter until a permanent manager could be hired
Recent Examples on the Web Last year, the league-average pinch hitter had a .660 OPS, compared to Flores’ career mark of .818. Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024 Byrd, now a sophomore, came into the game in the 8th inning as a pinch hitter and was walked and eventually replaced by a pinch runner. Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2024 Brady Kasper singled and scored on pinch hitter Dallas Macias' double. Matt Jones, arkansasonline.com, 24 Feb. 2024 He was limited to 85 games as a DH and pinch hitter last season. Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2024 Kelly was used mostly as a pinch hitter against right-handed pitchers. Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2024 Heim doubled in the seventh inning and came around to score after pinch hitter Sam Huff grounded into a run-scoring fielder’s choice. Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 12 May 2023 Tampa Bay completed the comeback from a five-run deficit when pinch hitter Manuel Margot and Yandy Díaz drew walks from Shintaro Fujinami to begin the eighth and moved up a base on a wild pitch. Mark Didtler, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2023 Marte came in as a pinch hitter in Wednesday’s game and drew a walk in his appearance. The Arizona Republic, 15 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pinch hitter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pinch hitter was in 1896

Dictionary Entries Near pinch hitter

Cite this Entry

“Pinch hitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pinch%20hitter. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pinch hitter

noun
1
: a baseball player sent in to bat for another especially when a hit is needed
2
: a person called upon to do another's work in an emergency
pinch-hit
(ˈ)pinch-ˈhit
verb

More from Merriam-Webster on pinch hitter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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